Scars mark the Bones
by Ace7
Summary: AU. Temperance Brenna is 16-years-old and has been in the system for a year. Getting kicked out of yet another foster home she finds herself crossing paths with a certain prodigy-achild of the system just like her. Brennan-Zack family fic.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey i came up with this while I was trying to pay attention to my teacher-seems my best ideas come when Im bored. I already jave it though out but if I didnt write it I just knew I would loose it.**

**Title-scars Mark the Bone**

**Characters-Temperance Brennan, Zack addy**

**Disclaimer-we dont own our cars the bank does, we dont own our houses, the bank does, I dont own Bones the... owner does.**

Temperance Brennan shifted on the plastic chair. She looked down at her worn converse with dejected green eyes knowing she would soon be writing the name of the foster home on it with a sharpei keychain that hung around her neck like a long necklace.

She felt tired, tired and resentful but mostly angry.

She'd done nothing wrong.

It was irrational what her foster parents had asked her. To pray to God? Ludicrous! Preposterous!

It went against everything she believed in and now she was being punished because she'd refused to convert. She was an atheist, she believed in science. She'd simply explained her right to her own religion-or lack thereof.

Ahe didn't understand why her foster family had been so irrational.. Ever since she'd entered the system everyone was irrational, from the inept

social workers to the idiotic and often nonsensical foster parents.

Temperance had completely given up on trying to reason with people something inside of her was shutting down and she could feel herself drifting away from the world.

What did she have in the world anyways? Nothing but the bag of clothes she lugged around with her. No one she could identify as family or even as a friend.

Something inside her screamed a protest at that. Saying that there was bound to be something or someone worth fighting for but she shoved it off as irrationality. After all she'd been to fifteen foster homes just this year. The posibilities that she'd find one that wasn't like the rest were slim and none.

Maybe there was an anthropological reason behind foster families and irrationality…

'Temperance'

The 16-year-old looked up snapping out of her train of thought but showing no other emotion or sign of acknowledgement . The social worker sighed, used by now to her charge's growing catatonia.

'You're staying with me for the night and tomorrow you're going to a new home in Boston'

Temperance said nothing but nodded to state she understood.

The social worker was about to say something else but stopped herself when she met Temperance's eyes.

'Alright' she said 'go wait in the car for me. I'll be there soon'

If it was any other child she wouldn't do so but she knows by now that Temperance is an exception , that she won't do anything.

She stared at the retreating form of the teenager and prayed that she wouldn't loose hope-if she hadn't already.

* * *

Temperance went into the car taking her time to methodically lock al the doors before she takes the sharpei off the cap around her neck and writes the name of the foster home in big black letters adding it to the many others that had turned their backs on her.

* * *

Going straingh to the room she knew she'd be occupying-this wasn't the first time she'd been kicked out of a foster home after all. Temperance dropped her bags on the bed without so much as sparing it a glance she took her toothbrush and headed for the bathroom.

After she was done brushing her teeth Temperance took her hair out of the pony tail it was usually kept in and shook her head so that the brown locks reached the small of her back then went back to the room and reached for the bags she knew held her pijamas-only to hear the bag talk to her.

'Would you mind moving your bags please, they are rather heavy'

Although the voice was small and slightly muffled it still made her jump in surprise and it took her a moment to rationalize that obviously bags could not talk. So there had to be a logical reason behind the voice.

Catiously but decisively Temperance lifted the bag only to find crystalline blue eyes peering up at her from a mop of brown hair.

Before either one of them could say anything the social worker walked in.

'What is going on in here?' she asked then stopped and took a look at the sight in front f her.

'oh my..well, at least now you know each other. Temperance this is Zack Addy your room mate for the night.'


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Zack was small for his age-which Temperance assumed couldn't be more than eight. As it was he was barely taller than her biggest bag.

Great, so not only had she gotten kicked out of yet another foster home. She was also going to be stuck with a kid, a child.

Temperance didn't like children( even if this sounded horrible) she just didn't-and he wasn't looking forward to spending the one day she thought she had for herself with a kid who's main hobby was probably collecting comic books and playing with plastic dolls who despite being dolls were referred to as action figures.

'Zack was just recently left with us' the social worker said in a voice that was entirely too cheery to relate the fact that a child had just been abandoned-either by ill fate or by their parent's will.

Apparently Zack thought so too since as soon as the social worker said this he visibly flinched and seemed to suddenly find the cracks on the floor very interesting. The social worker went on seemingly unaware.

'Maybe you can help him with some of the worksheets I gave him'

Temperance shrugged noncommittally trying not to look too uninterested. After all, it wasn't the kid's fault she didn't like kids.

'That won't be necessary' Zack said softly like he said everything 'I've already finished them'

The social worker turned to him startled-though not nearly as startled as Zack. Really Temperance felt bad for him. She'd been the smart kid enough times to know it wasn't fun all the time.

'You've finished them? But they're not even for your grade'

Zack ducked his head and kept his gaze on the ground mumbling something along the line of 'they weren't that hard'

Finally it dawned on the social worker that Zack wasn't going to say anything else left the room leaving a very nervous Zack Addy and a mildly responsive Temperance Brennan.

'We have to share a bed' Temperance said the thought finally catching up to her.

Zack simply nodded apparently having reached his quota of words for the day 'you don't still wet the bed do you?' Temperance asked point-blank

'Of course not ' Zack answered turning red at the ears and apparently having found his voice.

'Alright then' she said reaching over to grab her toothbrush and pajamas. She then left without so much as a glance back.

It wasn't until she was already in the bathroom that she heard him speak again-so softly she was surprised she was able to.

'It was nice to meet you Temperance'

S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-

'Are we watching a movie?'

Temperance glanced at the head peering up at her from under the blankets. She could have sworn he was asleep when she put on the movie.

'I don't have a bedtime'

'Oh'

'You don't like me much do you'

Although his voice didn't falter there was no way to mistake the hurt in his eyes and Temperance couldn't help but feel guilty.

'It's not you. I don't like children in general'

It wasn't the kind of thing she expected people to understand. So she was surprised when it seemed to make Zack feel better.

'Oh alright' he said then settled under the blanket again.

'Wait, you're ok with that?'

'Well, yes' Zack said coming out from under the blanket again. 'you don't have anything against me personally. You dislike children. Regardless of who they are'

He cocked his head to the side as if considering if this made sense then shrugged.

'Maybe if I wasn't a kid you'd like me'

Temperance was so taken aback by this answer she forgot she'd decided not to talk to Zack-or anyone else, more than necessary.

'I think I would' she said 'you seem like a very reasonable person'

Zack smiled then turned around and picked up the box the movie came in.

'The curse of the mummy?'

Temperance nodded

'yeah I bought it before….before coming here. It doesn't scare you does it?' she asked already fearing the answer. She had been waiting to watch this movie for days. Since having gotten into trouble she hadn't even been able to get it out of the box. Still children had a tendency to be afraid of dead things. Even though she never had been.

Zack shook his head 'It's my favorite movie'

Another surprise. And again Temperance was too taken aback to keep herself from asking.

'Really?'

Zack nodded enthusiastically apparently glad the conversation was lasting.

'I like science fiction better. But I like the mummy movie. It's really realistic'

'They use real forensic facts'

'I know' Zack said 'I saw a documentary on it last year'

'How old are you Zack?'

" I just turned seven'

_Interesting_, talking to him Temperance could have sworn she was talking to someone older.

Which was probably why he didn't seem to bother her like most kids did.

'Can we watch the movie?' Zack asked in a tone that was a plea for solitude and letting the matter drop-and which Temperance picked up on immediately having used it herself a million times. They both turned back to the small TV and she pushed play.

S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-S-C-A-R-S-M-A-R-K-T-H-E-B-O-N-E-

Before the mummy was defeated Zack had fallen prey to sleep. By light of the TV Temperance ended up going over the worksheets he'd done-mostly out of curiosity. They were math workbook pages, the kind social workers printed out to keep kids busy while they straightened out the paperwork. By looking at them Temperance could tell they were at least 4 grades ahead of Zack's age.

And he'd gotten every answer right.

_You're an intriguing child Zachariah Addy_, Temperance thought before she too fell prey to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

"We leave for Boston in half an hour" the social worker said while pouring Zack some orange juice. Zack said nothing in reply chewing methodically on the microwaved pancake on the fork in his left hand while writing down the number eight just as slowly on the right upper corner of the Sudoku square he was working on.

Rather than reprimanding him from his lack of response the social worker smiled warmly at him. Reaching out to ruffle his hair only to have him duck away -still not looking up from the paper. Temperance rolled her eyes as the social worker ignored this obvious sign that Zack had very little liking for physical contact . -really it had taken her all but the one night they shared a room to figure that out. But she supposed the woman did get a lot of cases, she was one of the only people in the foster system Temperance saw as competent ( having known her for a year and a half by now) but specifics about every child she worked with were bound to escape her without a photographic memory or at least above average memory recall.

"Zack I see you beat Temperance to the morning paper" she couldn't hep but sound surprise. It wasn't the first time Temperance was unexpectedly removed from a home an the social worker knew the puzzle was part of Temperance's routine -and apparently Zack's as well-

"I'll need that back when you're done with the puzzle"

Zack mumbled something that may have been a 'yes' or 'I guess' not looking up from the task at hand.

The truth was Temperance had let Zack have the paper -even though the change in routine put her slightly at odds. So far, Zack had blown past the beginners'' and 'intermediates'' Sudoku and was midway trough the advanced one.

She had no clue why she was suddenly so interested in Zack who was most likely going to be out of her life after a month or less though she had a few theories. Maybe it was the lack of intellect around her or the fact that Zack had been the first person she'd talked to in a long time who actually seemed to listen to reason. For all she knew, it could all be chalked up to scientific curiosity.

All that she knew was that, now that she was aware Zack was smart she wanted to know just how smart he was.

Not that Sudoku was particularly hard it was logic-based, almost common sense.

But there weren't many kids Zack's age who could solve the beginner Sudoku puzzle let alone the intermediate and advanced. And definitely not as fast as Zack was going without hesitating even once.

"Its harder t to focus with you watching over my shoulder like that"

Temperance snapped out of her thoughts to find Zack had stopped working on the puzzle and was now staring at her. Shifting self-consciously under the prolonged attention Zack made an attempt to divert it by doing what he guessed was the reason behind it.

"If you want to try I can copy the puzzle down for you"

"No that's fine" Temperance said finishing her own toast and milk and glancing at the puzzle.

"That eight doesn't go there"

Zack blinked up at her confused.

"I'm sorry?"

"That eight you put down. It doesn't g there"

"Yes it does"

"no it doesn't"

"Yes it does"

Temperance raised an eyebrow at how…determined -stubborn- Zack had suddenly become. Had she been wrong in her observation? Was he as irrational as everyone else?

Then again maybe he was simply defending his own thinking. She could certainly understand that.

Deciding to pursue that thought she reached over and took the pencil from him then erased the eight and replaced it in the middle square.

"You jumped to conclusions ahead of time and put the eight down too soon" she explained "If you had kept going like this you would have never solved the puzzle"

Zack's face looked as if she had told him his puppy died.

"I'm guessing you aren't corrected that often" Temperance said, it was a statement not a question.

Zack shook his head, though his attention was entirely focused on the puzzle as if it held a hidden message that would reveal to him just how he could have overlooked something and made a mistake.

"Are you always so surprised at being wrong?" Temperance stood to place her plate on the sink the returned back to the table.

"I'm not usually wrong" Zack said ducking his head like he had the other day in an attempt to hide the faint blush on his face.

"It's nothing to feel bad about" Temperance said trying her best to sound consoling and not quite succeeding "there aren't many kids your age who even know how to solve a sudoku puzzle. Much less do advanced one."

"Not many kids your age can do the advanced one either" Zack replied stabbing his pancake as if it were to blame for his mistake, then left the fork stuck to the pancake and turned to look at Temperance.

"But you knew where to put the eight, you knew where everything went all along. Didn't you?"

Temperance nodded startled that Zack knew she'd had been doing the puzzle in her head as he did it on the paper. -though in retrospect she really shouldn't be. She then shifted in place as Zack's expression turned from disappointment to deduction and then to complete awe.

"Well yes" she said trying to avoid the big brown eyes that suddenly seemed to be entirely focused on her and wishing the social worker would walk back into the kitchen. "but Zack I'm sixteen. Don't you think it makes sense for me to know something you don't"

Zack nodded grudgingly unable to argue with the logic even as he wanted to.

"Maybe once we get to Boston" Zack said keeping his eyes on the paper once more and sounding like he'd stop talking any second "maybe then..you can show you knew?"

Everything told her to refuse, she even went as far as to open her mouth, the word on the figurative tip of her tongue. But there was something in the way Zack had asked, like it had taken everything in him to get the words out, and even as everything told her to say no there was also something fighting against it,making her hesitate.

She figured it was scientific curiosity after all, she wanted to know how smart Zack truly was, what better way to truly be the judge of that than to test his abilities herself? And wasn't that why Zack had asked? Because he wanted his own curiosity satisfied? This way they could both benefit.

Drawing her conclusion she finally settled for a nod, choosing to overlook how Zack's eyes had seemed to light up a bit at the thought, 'Yeah maybe" she said in a voice that was noncommittal. Zack however didn't seem to catch on to the tone he had the night before. Instead he swallowed the last of his pancake and ran upstairs -presumably to pack. half-mumbling an apology when he almost ran into the social worker.

"It's so nice of you to take the time to talk to him" she told Temperance once Zack went upstairs. "when Zack was first brought here he wouldn't say more than two words to anyone and refused to make eye contact, you've obviously made an impression on him"

Temperance said nothing, suddenly thinking that maybe Zack's intelligence had misled her. In all the scientific curiosity and how refreshing someone who liked her favorite movie and even `understood some things like she did she had overlooked the fact that Zack was still a child -albeit a very logical one, but a child nonetheless and now they would be going to the same home in a new city and Temperance knew that -logically- Zack would, like most children want to stay near someone familiar.

Someone he was attached to.

Zack couldn't get attached ton Temperance. She couldn't allow it to happen. Because Temperance could not get attached to him.

She couldn't shouldn't and** wouldn't** get attached to anyone. Not ever again.


End file.
